You are now a couple of steps away from getting access to your full GP electronic health records. Gaining access will also allow you be able to view and book available appointments and also order any medications that you have on repeat prescription.

If you have any problems then ask to speak to Dr Hannan or Katie Rumney on 0161-367-7910 or send us an email on htmcpatient@nhs.net

Request your PIN NUMBERS (these provide you with secure access) from the receptionist at your own Practice. Once you have received your own PIN NUMBERS you will need to CREATE YOUR OWN ACCOUNT

Look at the links below to help YOU to understand what RECORDS ACCESS means and how it can benefit you

Complete the ON-LINE QUESTIONNAIRE - one questionnaire has to be done for each person even if you are doing it for somebody else e.g. your children or someone you care for

Print a CONSENT FORM (see below) sign it and don't forget to complete the 8 character password. You need to do one for each person that wants access to their records too.Ask the receptionist for a consent form if you do not have a printer

Thanks for asking to sign up for access to your electronic health record. You should already have your pin numbers to register for booking appointments on line and ordering repeat prescriptions. You will need to register first by following the instructions given to you. If you have not got your pin numbers then you will need to go to the surgery and ask the receptionist for your pin numbers.

The next step is for you to understand what access to your records means for you and some of the opportunities as well as the challenges that we face. The practice website has a number of resources on it to help you understand these better. You can access these by clicking on some of the links above. It also shows you how to understand your health better and what services there are in the surgery and the wider NHS to help you too. You can see blogs as well as sign up for an e-newsletter if you like too.

To further understand the issues around Access to Medical Records including what the benefits and challenges of Records Access are, click here. This will help you to easily see on one page a list of the benefits as well as some of the issues so that you can decide on balance what you think is best for you and your loved ones, You can always speak to Katie Rumney on 367-7910 or ask to book an appointment either for a telephone consultation or face to face with Dr Hannan if you prefer. He works at both Haughton Vale surgery and Thornley House Medical Centre.

Confused about privacy, security, confidentiality and access to health information? Here is Haughton Thrornley Medical Centres' take on these issues written in conjunction with the developer of www.htmc.co.uk.

You can watch videos on You Tube of Dr Hannan and patient of his Yvonne Bennett talking about issues relating to Records Access and some of the benefits as well as some of the issues. Click here to see a list of the videos. Each video lasts between 2 and 6 mins and can be watched from any computer connected to the internet.

If you would like to see what having access provides, try our test test patient record, this is a fictitious record and you can use the pin numbers and passwords provided. You can then have a go at seeing what patients with records access can do and see. You can have a go at booking an appointment on-line or ordering repeat prescriptions or even having a look at consultations, letters and test results.

You can also see a PDF of the magazine "Records Access". You will need Adobe Reader to view it which you can get by clicking here.

This was a magazine we produced in June 2007 which you can read through before we had the practice website. It has stories from patients and their relatives as well as facts about Records Access. The practice web site now provides more information which is up-to-date and allows you to interact with the information and also offers you choices eg to sign up for an e-newsletter or write a blog if you like.

There are still some copies of the magazie still available but they will be running out soon! One day they will become a collectors item!

News item from BBC News on "Web records prove hit with patients". The BBC have been very supportive of what we are trying to do to encourage patients and the public to get access to their records. Here is a news item that you may find interesting to read.

Click here to download an item from the Today programme on Radio 4 showing further media interest in this ground-breaking initiative.

Also here is a link to a podcast also on Radio 4 about Health & IT which inlcudes an interview with Dr Hannan.

Click here to listen to an interview on Radio 5 live about Records Access

We have also attached an item from the Times on 28th June 2008 which you may also find interesting about the ground-breaking work we are doing in the practice and how Yvonne Bennett, a patient at the practice benefits from the service. It talks about patient access to the GP record but also talks about HealthSpace and the Summary Care Record. We are keen for patients to record their own personal information eg height, weight, blood pressure, smoking status etc on HealthSpace so that you can then bring these along too when you go and see the doctor or nurse or go to the hospitals. See the self-care sectin of the website to see how you can do this.

Article in the Manchester Evening news about "Shipman's former patients go on-line" from October 2006. You can also see a comment left by a patient for others to see too on their blog!

"The Online-Shipman antidote" from 2008 informing patients and the public how the numbers of patients signing up for the service has improved.

Click here
to see a blog by Richard Smith, ex-editor of the British Medical Journal. He wrote this after he saw a talk delivered by Dr Hannan at Addenbrookes hospital in Cambridge. Read what others including a number of patients of Haughton Thornley Medical Centres say as they describe how patient access to their own health records has helped them. You can even post your own views here if you like for the rest of the world to see too!

Articles from local newspapers in the Tameside Reporter and the Glossop Chronicle

You can also sign up for our free blog that keeps you up to date with the latest developments. You can even set up a gadget on iGoogle or MSN so that you can see the latest blogs on your home page without havng to keep coming to the practice website - a good way to be kept informed if you are very busy. We have made a video to show you how easy it is to add the gadget to your home page!